It feels like the dust has barely settled on A.X.E: Judgment Day, and here we are at the start of another X-Men event storyline. Despite not involving the Avengers or the Eternals (well, it does a little bit), the scope of Sins of Sinister, as the event is known, dwarfs that of its predecessor in some respects, spanning 10, then 100, then 1,000 years into what may be Marvel’s darkest future timeline. But before readers can get that far, Sins of Sinister #1 reveals how it happens in a kickoff issue that is as fulfilling as an independent read as it is successful at building the hype for what’s to come.
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For the first few pages, Sins of Sinister #1 feels like the next issue of Immortal X-Men. That makes sense with the Immortal X-Men creative team of Kieron Gillen and Lucas Werneck at the helm. They pick up where the most recent issue of that series left off, with Mister Sinister facing judgment for his repeated slaughtering of the Quiet Council and for putting the resurrection protocols at risk by killing Hope Summers. While Sinister lands in the pit, he’s already infected the resurrected Quiet Council members with a version of his consciousness. Now the Quiet Council is Sinister.
From there, the issue feels like reading the highlights of an entire event unto itself. Sinister compromising the Quiet Council is only the start of his grand plans. What begins as an Invasion of the Body Snatchers-style conspiracy quickly escalates as Sinister enacts one bombastically deranged plan after another to eliminate all threats to his reign.
Werneck proves capable of depicting all of this, with a style familiar to anyone following Immortal X-Men. He also gets to recreate the iconic opening of House of X with a Sinister twist. Readers are then treated to revel in a string of splash pages realizing the lengths of Sinister’s unrelenting reach, each created by a different special guest artist. It’s terrible and delightful, and you get the sense that the creative team is having almost as much fun indulging their dark side as Sinister seems to have while making his most sadistic fantasies come true. Almost.
While readers may giggle at Sinister’s flamboyant depravity, there’s subtext layered throughout. Building on the aftermath of Judgment Day, which forced Krakoa to become further entangled with human nations, Sins of Sinister #1 shows how ill-intentioned actors can compromise a well-intentioned system. They chip away at its noble goals for selfish gain while cloaked in kindness. Once their soft power becomes inescapable, the masks can come off, and the exploited continue to cheer for their less-than-benevolent “benefactors.”ย
Yet, this is only the beginning of a much larger story. For those invested in the characters involved, the issue packs plenty of reasons to be excited. A legion of Sinister-modified Nightcrawlers? A team of Sinister X-Men? Storm leading the defiant few, having escaped corruption by accepting her mortality? The issue set the stage for each story, luring readers with enticing hooks any X-Men fan would struggle to ignore.
It’s clear that Gillen and Werneck, along with their other collaborators on the events, are planning to go big with Sins of Sinister. Alternate timelines and dark futures are familiar tropes throughout X-Men history, dating back to “Days of Future Past.” Yet, the setup here feels fresh and exciting in ways a jaded comics reader might not expect. For decades, “Age of Apocalypse” has reigned as the premiere villain-ruled alternate future in the X-Men canon. If Sins of Sinister #1 is anything to go by, we may have a new challenger for that title.
Published byย Marvel Comics
Onย January 25, 2023
Written by Kieron Gillen
Art byย Lucas Werneck (with special guest artists)
Colors byย Bryan Valenza
Letters byย Clayton Cowles
Cover byย Leinil Francis Yu and Jesus Aburtov
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Image Credit: Marvel Comics
